On Tue, 08 Jun 2010 22:11:33 +0100, "
wrote:

Any chance that Oyster could used on other bus networks in the country?

Very unlikely as the government has insisted that ITSO standards will
apply everywhere else in the UK. It is funding the work to allow the
Oyster system to read and process ITSO standard smartcards. In other
parts of the country operators, councils or ITA (Integrated Transport
Authorities - formerly PTEs) can choose to buy equipment that is
compatible with the ITSO suite of standards and in theory
interoperability should result. There is no funding to make Oyster
cards readable on buses in Birmingham or Nottingham.

I am a long way from being an expert on ITSO - I have yet to summon the
enthusiasm to read hundreds of pages of information - but the key seems
to lie in ensuring that the commercial ticket products are correctly
defined and that operators agree common product definitions and
programme their kit to recognise such things. I have yet to understand
where the "industry body / bodies" are going to come from to ensure that
a smartcard issued in Tyne in Wear by Go Ahead can also work on TfL
services, on Southern trains to Brighton and then a Brighton and Hove
bus. That example has 3 out of the 4 operators within the Go Ahead group
where there are definite commitments to do something but how are Go
Ahead going to make it work and then agree something with TfL?

I would dearly love to have a smartcard that could work nationally on
rail and on bus - I just fear it is one heck of a long way away from
fruition. I'd not be surprised to see funding for ITSO development get
killed in the spending review process on the basis that councils can do
it locally or else the bus groups will do it privately.
--
Paul C

On 07/06/2010 22:27, Ivor Jones wrote:
On 07/06/10 21:41, Brian Robertson wrote:
Graham Harrison wrote:
I don't use my Senior Pass a lot (we don't have that many buses round
here in rural Somerset) but when I do I get issued with a ticket. I
was in London at the weekend and the drivers there were happy to have
me simply show it to them - didn't even have to place it on the
Oyster reader. Was that correct? How do London organise the
funding?

Oh God, you'll start that old nutter from Preston off!

Anyway, it runs like this in Manchester at least. In the south of Greater
Manchester Stagecoach issue a ticket. In the north, First don't. The
operators seem to have an agrement with the PTE where an average fare is
agreed for an average number of passengers using the passes. At no
time do
the drivers of either company have to record a boarding or destination
stage.

In the West Midlands we use the Wayfarer system. On the machine are
buttons for various types of tickets and passes, when a pass holder
boards the driver simply presses the appropriate button. The data from
the machine is downloaded when the bus arrives back in garage and the
appropriate amount is claimed from the PTE (Centro). There is no
requirement (or even means) to issue a ticket.

If anyone is familiar with the Transcend software package, it gives very
detailed analysis/statistics on ticket/pass use.

Ivor

How is information from an Oyster card relayed when you tap in on a bus?
If you are on pay as you go, for example, and change busses, then the
indicator on the second bus already shows that previous fare was
deducted from the first bus.

On Tue, 08 Jun 2010 22:10:25 +0100, "
wrote:

How is information from an Oyster card relayed when you tap in on a bus?
If you are on pay as you go, for example, and change busses, then the
indicator on the second bus already shows that previous fare was
deducted from the first bus.

When a valid transaction is made the relevant info is updated on the
card itself and also recorded in the bus ticket machine (or validator or
ticket gate on rail or tram systems). The collected data is sent to the
central system for accounting, usage and card transaction history
purposes on rail and tram networks. For buses it is collected from the
driver module when the driver completes his shift and signs off at the
garage.

The next time you use the card it is read by the next Oyster enabled
device and depending on the rules you may or may not need to pay extra
(e.g. in zone or you've reached your daily cap). None of this is
particularly difficult.

There is not any real time Oyster data transmission from buses to the
centre or bus to bus. Obviously buses are in contact with the network
control via radio and for I-Bus service management but I don't believe
the system has sufficient capacity to provide secure financial
transaction data transmission.
--
Paul C